VILLANOVA LOOKS TO STAY HOT VS. HOYAS

February 28, 2009


An old school Big East battle is rekindled at the Wachovia Center at high noon on Saturday as the Villanova Wildcats will host the Georgetown Hoyas. This game was expected to carry much more meaning in the Big East standings, but the struggles of the Hoyas have left them down and out of the Big East race.

Villanova is still in the mix for a top-four seed for the 2009 Big East Tournament as they enter Saturday’s contest 11-4 and with a 23-5 overall mark. The Wildcats have been one of the hottest teams in the nation, winning nine of their last 10 games. They will look to keep the pressure on UConn, Louisville, Pitt and Marquette by claiming an early afternoon win on Saturday.

Georgetown, on the other hand, has been mired in a head-scratching slump, losing nine of their last 11, with wins coming against South Florida and Rutgers. Last weekend’s Saturday/Monday dual losses at home to Marquette and Louisville have dropped the Hoyas to 5-10 in the Big East and 14-12 overall, not very impressive for a team that boasts former McDonald’s All-American recruits such as Greg Monroe, Chris Wright and Austin Freeman in their starting line-up along with DaJuan Summers, who was also a very highly regarded recruit when he signed with the Hoyas.

Georgetown certainly has high-end talent, the problem has been that that talent sees a significant drop-off in level and experience following the starting five. As the losses began to mount, the team’s confidence and chemistry seemed to erode rapidly. Guards Wright and Jesse Sapp had a much-publicized halftime confrontation in a loss to Duke and Sapp has also been benched for his attitude toward the coaching staff in another game.

Georgetown showed some signs of snapping out of the funk, nearly stealing a win at Syracuse and then blowing out USF, but last weekend’s pair of losses seemed to take the final wind out of their sails.

Villanova had a classic letdown performance on Wednesday as the DePaul game followed their frantic win over Syracuse in the Dome last weekend, a game where SU missed four game-tying attempts in the last seconds and the Wildcats escaped with a win over a big rival.

The Wildcats will need a better performance on Saturday to beat Georgetown. Look for Jay Wright’s crew to extend defensive pressure and force Chris Wright to make proper decisions in pushing the ball or pulling it back out to run the Hoya offense. This defensive philosophy will also make it difficult for Georgetown to go inside to freshman Greg Monroe, an under-used weapon in their arsenal. Coach John Thompson III acknowledged the Hoyas problems this week during the Big East coaches conference call with their decision-making within their intricate offensive system.

“We always have given guys a lot of freedom to play,” JTIII told reporters. “You have to make the right decisions, you have to share the ball.”

It has been a long season for Georgetown since the calendar has flipped from 2008 to 2009. Playing a hot Villanova team on the road is unlikely to make things any better after the crushing defeats of last weekend. This could be a very tough game for the Hoyas to big themselves back up for.

NBE Blogger Preview:

Villanova 78
Georgetown 66

Georgetown Could Learn from Nova (Washington Times)